Pakistan

The Aurat Foundation study titled ‘A five year report on: Performance of Women Parliamentarians in the 12th National Assembly (2002-2007)’ states that women MPs moved 27 percent of the total questions; 30 percent of the total calling attention notices; 24 percent of the total resolutions and 42 percent of the total private member bills in the assembly during the five years of the study. Women played a key role in raising issues of violence, health, education, and the environment.

The electoral process needs to be simplified since women have to go through great challenges during the current process of voting in the country, said Sharmila Farooqui, Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister (CM). She was addressing a dialogue session on challenges and obstacles in women’s right to vote. The event was organised by the Aurat Foundation.As a general practice, most women do not vote according to their own choices and male members of the family impose their own choices on them, Farooqui said.

All stakeholders will have to struggle to ensure the rights of women in politics, participants of a regional conference on engendering democracies said on Wednesday.The senior rights activists and experts expressed these views on the first day of the two-day international conference under the title of ‘Reflection of Violence against Women in Politics’.
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Hundreds of civil society activists from scores of different organisations working for the empowerment of women gathered together at The Mall on Sunday to hold a rally in connection with International Women’s Day, which is being observed around the world today (Monday).Parliamentarians Shakeela Rasheed, Sajida Mir and Amna Buttar also participated in the rally and assured the gathering that they would continue their struggle for the empowerment of women in politics. Bushra Khaliq of Women Workers Help Line and Shazia Khan from Awami Jmahori Forum also spoke on the occasion.

An illiterate peasant who is a mother of nine, Jori had made a bid for the PB-25 Jafarabad seat in the Sindh provincial assembly that had suddenly been vacated with the killing of its occupant, Sardarzada Rustam Jamali.Few had expected her to win in the by-elections held on Mar. 10.

Bhutto was a powerful symbol for women in South Asia. Her homecoming to Pakistan in 2007 after eight long years in exile managed to make us forget about Bhutto's (more specifically her husband's) countless corruption charges. Even the allegations of Benazir murdering her older brother in a power struggle to win control over their father's political party seemed to vanish.

Speakers at a seminar, ìWomen, Religion and Politicsî, said Saturday that political parties should give equal opportunities to women so that they could play their role in the progress of the country.

The two-day seminar, organized by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung and Shirkat Gah-Women Resource center here, discussed challenges pertaining to women’s participation in politics in Pakistan.

The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) here Wednesday unveiled a set of recommendations for improved political participation of women under Political Parties Order 2002 and Local Government System and it was supported by the representatives of the political parties, members of the civil society and experts.

There is a need to formulate a national media policy that could bring about a positive change in society and highlight the reality of the women's vital role in building the nation, said Sindh Women's Development Minister Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto. Speaking at a seminar titled,"Women as agents of change", to mark the celebration of the Commonwealth Day, she said,"Without women's participation, development in any country was not possible. However, women needed proper education and guidance through the media. The media has the power to change the mindset of the masses.